Boys Town Press Offers “About Me” Interactive Books for Children & Adults To Create Together

www.boystownpress.org

By Emerson Sandow

It is a well-established fact that strong reading skills are essential for lifelong success in academics and in general living in adulthood. One would think that all of the great ideas in teaching reading or supplementing such teaching, had been thought of, but educator K.A. (Kathy) Bye has shown otherwise. Ms. Bye, who believes strongly in the power of proper instruction in reading, developed a series of four interactive “About Me” books, published by Boys Town Press, that enabled her to create memories with her grandchildren, and remain connected with them, even though they lived hundreds of miles away. Each 30-page, spiral-bound “About Me” book allows children, ages 2 to 8, to enjoy a major part of the creation of their books – thinking, writing, illustrating and in the process, creating their own personal story, using their own words. They can then illustrate the stories with family photos, drawings or designs.
Homeschoolers who are aware of the Charlotte Mason approach to home teaching will recognize and appreciate the “Mason-esque” quality of the “About Me” series. Formulating the story, followed by the proactive, hands-on activities of writing and illustrating one’s own personal book resonates completely with her method and values for teaching children fully. And, if a family needs a reminder to have an outing at the zoo, one of Ms. Bye’s books is My Trip to the Zoo — providing the perfect reason!
The “About Me” books keep children deeply engrossed in all aspects of creation, fulfilling one of Ms. Bye’s goals – secondary to having a project with her grandchildren. She knew that she wanted to depart from the traditional book format and find a way to have her grandchildren involved in the process of creation as well. Her imaginative books allow parents (or other adult family members) and children to work together on an “heirloom” project that shines in the moment, but also allows for future, repeated enjoyment in the re-reading of the stories and re-living the experience of creating the book.
The four titles are Visiting My Grandmother, My Trip to the Zoo, I Like Birthdays! and I Like Holidays! The books assist in teaching reading, vocabulary and writing but also coloring, number awareness, calendar knowledge, as well as family traditions and practices. Ms. Bye’s books provide a perfect family creative project, and in families of more than one child, the younger children can perform some of the tasks of creation, photo-choosing, etc., while older children can actually write the story of the book.
It is easy to envision a family using the “About Me” books as a springboard for future, customized writing projects that are a unifying theme for family creation, using their own formats and expanding upon the themes presented in the original four volumes.
“About Me” books are available at book stores or from Boys Town Press at www.boystownpress.org or by calling 401-498-1320. E.S.